John Geoghan

John Geoghan was an American priest who became a symbol of the sexual abuse crisis within the Roman Catholic Church. He was known for abusing nearly 150 boys, with his crimes gaining widespread attention through The Boston Globe's 2002 Spotlight series. The series revealed how the Boston archdiocese had covered up allegations by reassigning abusive priests to new parishes. Geoghan was eventually defrocked and convicted of molesting a child. He died in prison in 2003, murdered by a fellow inmate. His actions and the subsequent revelations significantly damaged the Catholic Church's credibility and encouraged many other victims to come forward globally.12